Civil Liberties

Introduction

The Bill of Rights was created and passed during the very first session of Congress to define limits on the power of the federal government. It established the freedoms that many of us take for granted in the United States today: speech, religion, assembly, rights of the accused, and gun rights. Over time, though, we have determined that those rights are not absolute and require defined limits.

In this unit, we will examine our individual protections against an overly intrusive federal government. This is the first unit where you will be introduced to, and need to know, a good number of Supreme Court cases, which poses an extra challenge. Through this study, you will gain a better sense of your rights in our society and how you are protected against certain forms of government control.